


Touch Me Honey, Do

by rebeccastceir



Series: An End. A Beginning.  - MOOD BOARD [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I know nothing of timelines, M/M, Noodle Dragons, Overwatch - Freeform, Relationship(s), Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:15:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeccastceir/pseuds/rebeccastceir
Summary: Jesse sighed with annoyance and tossed the controller on the floor, flopping back into the couch in a huff. He’d been trying to show off for Hanzo - who was sitting cross-legged with his arms folded beside him - and trying to subtly get it across to Hana to let him, but she’d either missed his hints or got so wrapped up in the game she forgot about them.Hanzo shifted slightly beside him. And suddenly the backs of his fingers, hidden under his folded arm, were lightly brushing Jesse’s ribs.Jesse looked at him in shock.
Relationships: Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, McHanzo
Series: An End. A Beginning.  - MOOD BOARD [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002075
Comments: 6
Kudos: 126





	Touch Me Honey, Do

“ _HAH!_ ” Hana crowed. “ _Suck it_ , old man! I win again!”

Jesse sighed with annoyance and tossed the controller on the floor, flopping back into the couch in a huff. He’d been trying to show off for Hanzo - who was sitting cross-legged beside him, arms folded across his chest - and trying to subtly to get it across to Hana to let him, but she’d either missed his hints or got so wrapped up in the game she forgot. Jesse put one arm across the back of the couch and leaned his cheek on the other fist, pouting. He and Hanzo were sort of friends now and had been for a while, and Jesse knew he valued the archer’s friendship. But he also knew he wanted a lot _more_ than that, and he didn’t know how to get it across. Hanzo had a way of looking at him that made his mouth stumble. Jesse was even less certain how his affections would be received. He knew for _damn_ certain that he valued what they already had, and he didn’t want to lose Hanzo if he tried for anything else.

Hanzo shifted slightly beside him, arms still folded across his chest, legs still crossed beneath him, the way he’d been sitting the entire game, his attention focused solely on the screen. But suddenly the backs of his fingers, hidden underneath his folded arm, were lightly brushing Jesse’s ribs.

Jesse looked at him in shock.

Hanzo’s lips quirked in the barest hint of amusement, but he continued watching the game as Hana fired up another round, inviting all comers and talking smack. Lúcio pounced on the other controller, talking smack right back. But Jesse’s attention had shrunk to four square inches of his ribcage, where Hanzo’s fingers continued to stroke him.

Hanzo was _touching_ him. _Voluntarily_.

Jesse couldn’t help but _stare._

Jesse touched everybody - physical affection was what he _did_. He gave practically everybody on the base cheek kisses and high-fives when they were happy, back rubs and hugs when they weren’t. When he himself was feeling down, he could ooze his way into getting the girls and even Genji to pet on him with his patented, best-ever, no-fail puppy-dog eyes. But he’d been holding himself back with Hanzo, out of respect for the other man’s reserve. And also the death-glare he’d gotten the first time he’d tried it. And also the judo throw. And also -

Hanzo’s fingers brushed Jesse’s ribs again. Jesse’s train of thought crashed and burned.

In the flaming wreckage, he brought his hand in a little from where it lay across the back of the couch, and lightly grazed his thumb up the back of Hanzo’s neck.

Hanzo’s lips curled up in a quiet, self-satisfied smile, like a cat, and he relaxed almost imperceptibly into the touch. For him it was the equivalent of a full-body melt.

They sat that way for several minutes, Jesse trying to recover from the shock. He’d never seen Hanzo quite like this. His _dragons_ , yes. Now that they were spending a lot more time together, he knew that Hanzo frequently shook them loose in private, and they scampered around his room like ferrets, preening under Jesse’s affection before bouncing off to find something else to get into. Hanzo had mentioned once or twice that the dragons were a reflection of his inner state, but Jesse had stopped believing in that - he had often seen them snapping and fighting with each other while Hanzo himself was sitting perfectly still, watching tv beside him on the cou-

Ah.

… _OH_.

Jesse swallowed hard.

He rubbed his thumb along the back of Hanzo’s neck and into the lower edge of his hair. Then he heard it:

The dragons’ deep, almost imperceptible _purr_.

When they were still encased in the archer’s skin, their growls, grumbles, and purrs were how they made themselves known, and Jesse had long suspected that Hanzo didn’t have any actual control over their sounds - although Hanzo wasn’t above _amplifying_ them to underscore whatever mood he was in. Usually, he was annoyed. Often he was annoyed at Jesse. Between Hanzo’s annoyance and the dragons’ own private tussles, Jesse was far more familiar with their growls and grumbles than he was with their purring. In fact he’d only ever heard it twice - once in connection with Genji, and the other actually the night before this, when Jesse had walked past Hanzo’s door and the archer had invited Jesse in to watch an old Japanese western. The dragons had curled around his ankles when he agreed, tugging him inside and purring madly.

Now it was rolling again, deep and steady, and just loud enough for Jesse to hear.

Oh.

 _Oh_ …

Emboldened, trying not to blush, with his heart racing and _completely_ unable not to stare, Jesse brought his fingertips across Hanzo’s skin where his neck met his shoulder, let his thumb rub into the tight sinews of his neck.

The purr deepened immediately, and Hanzo’s eyes slid shut, his head dropping forward a few inches. His weight sagged deeper into the couch. His legs relaxed, until the outside of his thigh was lightly brushing against Jesse’s.

Except for the fingers still rubbing Jesse’s ribs, the archer had gone completely boneless.

A scant three minutes later, Hanzo was actually _snoring_.

Jesse hid his grin.

Hanzo’s love-language was _touch_. Who knew.

__

Jesse began his assault almost immediately - not that it really counted as _assault_ , all things considered later. When Hanzo woke up from his nap, he excused himself, almost embarrassed, but let Jesse give him a smile and a light brush across his shoulder in goodbye. There was the whole, entire possibility that Hanzo actually _blushed_.

When the group gathered for supper later that night - Winston’s turn to cook, and the man did a mean curry - Jesse let his hand brush Hanzo’s shoulder again as he passed him to sit down, and let their elbows, knees, and arms bump into each other while they ate. Hanzo took this in stride, not appearing to react…except he was somewhat less cautious and reserved in his own movements, occasionally letting himself brush Jesse in return.

After supper, Genji suggested a movie that Jesse’d kinda been wanting to see, and rather than bowing out Hanzo somehow arranged to sit next to him on the couch. Hana squeezed in on Jesse’s other side, and Jesse stole her popcorn bowl, holding it on his lap where the archer could reach it too. If Jesse did the old ‘yawn and stretch’, and if Hanzo smirked slightly before settling microscopically closer, well, at least _Hana_ didn’t notice. Genji must’ve. When the movie was over and Hanzo quietly invited Jesse to watch an episode of a Japanese tv show with him, Jesse glanced around in surprise and saw Genji giving him a covert thumbs-up. Jesse readily agreed, extracting himself from Hana - no loss, he was replaced by Lúcio and Mei - and the evening finished quietly, Hanzo’s dragons winding around his ankles.

There was a mission mid-week, and Jesse followed his usual post-mission routine when he got back - except that _after_ he had showered and dressed and _before_ he could wander back out to the kitchen, Hanzo knocked on his door and shoved a bag of Chinese takeout at him. Then he sauntered into Jesse’s room as if he owned the place. Since he also had his tablet under his elbow, and shook the dragons free as soon as he was inside, Jesse didn’t fight it. Instead he shut the door with a grin, offered Hanzo a beer, and made his bed, so they had someplace to sit. They talked quietly while they ate - Hanzo hadn’t gone on the mission at all, and Jesse had only been needed to posture and look intimidating - and then they sat back on the bed like it was a big couch to watch more of the tv show. The dragons eventually lost interest in nosing around through Jesse’s things, and curled up between them on the bed, fading in their contentment.

Jesse’d always wondered how Hanzo got them back in again, and finally got up the courage to ask.

Hanzo looked at the sleepy blue things, reached a hand out to pet the nearest one, and simply neglected to answer.

Jesse smiled to himself. He slid down in the bed and sideways a little bit, and rested his head on Hanzo’s shoulder. Then he reached out to nudge the other dragon. Its solidity seemed in direct proportion to its brightness, but he could still feel the soft belly skin, like a lizard, supple and warm. “Think this is about the best first date I ever been on,” he admitted.

He felt Hanzo’s breath hitch on the word ‘date’, saw the dragons rouse sleepily, blinking up at them. Hanzo crooked his finger, scratching under one’s chin, and Jesse watched its eyes squint shut with contentment as it went back to sleep.

“I as well,” Hanzo said finally, his voice very, very deep, and very soft.

The dragon nearest Jesse squirmed around like a cat until its head was under his fingertips, and he was scritching the top of its scalp between its horns. It let out a brief, breathy purr, and settled back down.

Jesse dozed off at some point too, only waking up when Hanzo gathered his tablet and slid off the bed.

“I was trying not to wake you,” the archer apologized. The dragons were already gone.

“Mmm, least I c’n do is walk you back,” Jesse said, his own voice gravelly with sleep. He stretched out a kink, noticed Hanzo wasn’t rejecting the offer, and pushed to his feet.

“I still didn’t get to see you call ‘em back,” he pouted a little, as they stepped out into the hallway.

Hanzo continued to pretend he hadn’t heard him.

“They got names?”

Hanzo hesitated. “Ramen and Udon,” he admitted finally. “Genji’s is named Soba.”

Jesse chuckled. “Like the noodles?”

“We were children,” Hanzo said a little defensively. He added, in a smaller, poutier voice, “And I _like_ noodles.”

Jesse grinned and draped an arm around Hanzo’s shoulders. “That’s _adorable._ ”

“Shut up,” Hanzo grumbled, pushing forward. But he was blushing.

“Aw, darlin’,” Jesse pouted, sticking his lower lip out. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Hanzo raised an eyebrow at him as he stepped into his own room. “If I could be offended by a mere foolish cow man,” he said, leaning back out to look archly at Jesse, “I would not have brought you food.” He chucked his tongue against his teeth. Jesse heard the scritter of eight little feet, and looked down in time to see two ghostly blue dragons, barely visible in the harsh hallway light, as they oozed past him into Hanzo’s room. “Good night, Jesse.”

The door closed.

Jesse chuckled all the way to the kitchen. After a date like that, he needed ice cream.

By Friday they were watching two or three episodes a night, debating the particulars and arguing relationships. Jesse was all in favor of one, while Hanzo declared it impossible because of… some little cultural technicality Jesse didn’t quite get. “Well, let’s watch the next one,” he finally insisted. “Maybe it’ll tell us who’s right.”

“There is no next one,” Hanzo shrugged.

Jesse blinked. “What?”

“There is no next one. That was the last.”

Jesse stared at him in horror. “You mean it _ends_ like that?”

Hanzo spread his hands.

Jesse sat back, sputtering. It was such a _terrible_ way to end a show - all cliff-hangers and unanswered questions. He felt _cheated_ somehow. “So _now_ what do we do?”

Hanzo shrugged, put his arms around Jesse’s neck, and kissed him.

It took a few seconds for Jesse to get his brain back, but when he did, he decided Hanzo was right: this was _absolutely_ the best thing to do.

He bodily hauled Hanzo across his lap and kissed him back, aware on some level that the dragons were skittering around, squeaking excitedly.

And yep, this was even better.


End file.
